Baghdad described as lacking fundamental services and utilities

Three years after the United States invaded Iraq, Baghdad is still lacking basic services for its citizens. Water treatment plants that were to have been repaired after the war meet 60% of the city's needs, and the sewerage pipes are clogged with garbage. During the past six months, more than 300 garbage collectors have been killed, and people are tossing their garbage into the streets.

A well-off Iraqi man who live in Karrada told the San Francisco Chronicle that he gets power four hours a day, and that running water is available for one hour, between 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning. He says he stays up late and collects as much water as he can in plastic jugs.

In the poor part of Baghdad, the resident live in shelters made of corrugated metal, concrete, and rusted oil containers.